Crooked
by Fyras14
Summary: Alyssa Campbell was mighty interested in one Atsuko Kagari. Very much so. Is this love? Or something else entirely?


**Author's Note:** It's been so long since I posted something here.

I might post a few other stories I have from the Archive...but they might take a while.

This one is a rather short story. Will probably get this one finished in a few days, but for now, I hope you enjoy this first part.

* * *

 **Part I**

 **A Mousetrap**

All her life, Alyssa had been fascinated by the odd, by the strange, by the...exotic.

Take one Atsuko Kagari for example.

That girl was brash. She was loud. She was stubborn. She was stupid. She was also arrogant to an unhealthy degree...well, maybe that last one was not true. The girl could be honest and friendly and cute, but the arrogant part was still very much present.

It was cute how sure she was of her abilities sometimes.

But Atsuko, or Akko as she preferred to be called, wasn't a good witch.

She was absolutely terrible.

Maybe that's what had originally attracted Alyssa. Akko's terribleness.

Any spell she uttered, any incantation she'll yell, would either fail entirely or explode on her face, the latter happening more than the former.

Akko's roommates, Sucy and Lotte, would either laugh at her misfortune (Sucy) or try to assure her that she'll get it next time (Lotte). Her classmates, however, weren't so understanding, or took her disasters with a snicker and a nasty smile. No. The other students would openly laugh at her disasters, sometimes get angry if it created another mess, and others, like Diana Cavendish, would berate her and ridicule her.

Well, perhaps ridicule was a harsh word, but even Alyssa could see that Diana did not like Akko and vice versa.

That's one thing Alyssa admired about her.

She stood up against people like Diana despite it all.

Diana was the perfect witch, respected, powerful, smart. Akko stood on the other corner, foolish, adorable, careless. Ah.

Alyssa wondered why Diana didn't see what she saw.

There was something _magical_ about Atsuko Kagari.

But Alyssa could forgive Diana for not noticing it before, for not admiring Akko up close.

Alyssa became interested in Akko when they were practicing metamorphosis magic.

That type of magic was her favorite. Metamorphosis. A change. A process. Whereas in the outside world, metamorphosis was basic biology, in the magical world, metamorphosis meant to transform, to change, to turn simple things into something greater, to make them appear.

There were many different types of Metamorphosis magic, the most common once were simple transformation spells, animal to animal or witch to animal. A few variants of these spell existed, like turning inanimate objects into animals and vice versa, turning certain parts of the body such as growing a tail or exchanging your head with that of a lion or maybe a bear.

So, when it was Akko's turn to turn a mouse into a squirrel (how typical), she ended up giving herself large mouse-like ears.

It was adorable. It was...fascinating.

So, as everyone laughed (Diana just had a smug smirk on her face), Alyssa marvelled at the change.

Akko's new ears didn't look realistic. They had a certain 'look' about them that reminded Alyssa of those silly mascot costumes one would see at theme parks or at a sports game. They looked so fake, but so real at the same time, that Alyssa wanted to touch them, feel them, caress them.

And as Akko whined, the teacher groaned, and her classmates laughed, Alyssa smiled.

Atsuko Kagari had captured her heart, and the girl didn't even know it.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Two months later, Akko Kagari had done it again.

After days of practice, Akko had finally managed to...not turn her ears into those of a mouse, but to turn into a mouse herself.

The change was almost fascinated to Alyssa, who had taken to watching Akko practice at the late hours of the night from her window while her own teammates slept.

One minute she was normal, and the next, she was a tiny, orange mouse, running and jumping in delight all over the place. Then, the jumping stopped as a puff of smoke revealed a girl in the mouse's place.

Alyssa still remembered Akko's pout and her grin, seconds later.

It was...adorable. Everything.

That little mouse had looked so...so, cartoony. That mouse looked more like a cartoon than an actual mouse. Silly to look at, but adorable, all the same.

So, when the exam came, Akko was ridiculed again.

It broke Alyssa's heart to see Akko so upset. Her classmates and teacher had not seen what Alyssa saw. Had not seen the uniqueness, the oddity that Akko created when she turned that squirrel into a mouse.

The mouse looked ridiculous but Alyssa saw the beauty beyond those larger than usual eyes, those exaggerated ears, that large, black little nose. She had almost rush to take that little mouse into her arms and keep it to herself, but old Badcock had to get in the way, sigh, shake her head, and berate Akko as she returned the squirrel to its rightful form. How dull.

Akko, of course, had been extremely frustrated and despite Lotte's assurances and Sucy's annoyance cackles, the Japanese witch had been more determined than ever to improve.

And Diana Cavendish had just shook her head, smile in place, and wondered if she could ever improve as her two lackies laughed behind her.

Oh, that had gotten Akko so furious. But instead of fighting, instead of teaching smug Cavendish a lesson, Akko had just declared she was going to be the best and she'll master this spell no problem.

No one had believed her.

Alyssa was just disappointed to know her little mouse would become plain soon.

* * *

Two nights of practice and nothing.

Akko was getting frustrated.

She had the basics down, so why couldn't she turn into a real mouse!? Why did she turned into something out old school cartoons!? Why couldn't she managed something epic like Diana with that horse! Heck, even Sucy's spell had looked awesome, too! But Professor Badcock had screamed either way...turning mice into snakes usually does that to people, but still.

Why couldn't she get this one right!? It wasn't fair!

She was sure she was saying the spell correctly. She had read and reread her notes, the spell book, and even taken a look at Lotte's notes...she had almost been tempted to ask Diana for help, but her pride had forced her away.

No way was she asking Cavendish for help. Sure, Diana might help her (despite her smugness and taunts, that girl was helpful to a fault sometimes) but getting help from her rival meant admitting defeat.

If she couldn't do it for herself, what was the point?

And so, she practiced and practiced.

And a week later, Alyssa Campbell had arrived.

The girl was a new addition to the school, if Akko remembered correctly. Nice girl that Campbell. She had an odd hobby of collecting stuffed animals and other little things that her roommates found strange and freaky. She had a few, real, stuffed animals...a head of a tiger, mounted in nice, sleek wood, a display case with many insects of all kinds, even a stuffed cobra. According to her roommates, Alyssa had just upped and showed them her collection...from bugs to rare animal skins, to that tiger head that lay near her bed. Sure, Alyssa was on good terms with her roommates, but the rumors whispered that they found that particular hobby of hers a little weird.

Akko didn't really see how that was so weird.

Sucy literally had rotting frog legs on a jar and many other things that should have melted by now, so Akko wasn't really bothered. In Alyssa's case, the animals and bugs looked alright. No missing eyes, no melting or rotting parts. Just normal.

So, it was rather surprising when Alyssa appeared one night, smiling at Akko and complimenting her on her transformation skills.

The girl had confessed that she had seen Akko practicing for a week now.

Alyssa had apologized but Akko had just shrugged it off, figuring that she was probably too loud or something.

(That last part was true...but Alyssa wasn't going to mention it.)

Still, the two girls had a talk, with Alyssa complimenting Akko's transformations. Akko had not understood of course.

"They're terrible, though…" she had told her, looking so disappointed and dejected.

But Alyssa had just laughed and said, "That's not really true, you know. Your transformations are unique...so different...so...amazing." Akko had just stared at Alyssa like she was crazy.

Was she making fun of her?

Before Akko could say anything else, Alyssa began to compliment her. Telling her that her transformations were one of a kind. The other girls's transformations were too common, too dull and obvious. Heck, the only one that showed initiative was Diana, and even then, her horses, her elephants and even dragons got stale. They looked so real and so...so boring.

Alyssa told her that she found Akko's transformation cute and unique.

"They are real and wonderful."

That last remark had gotten a blush out of Akko but she was still determined to get this one thing right.

The Campbell girl had offered her a simple solution to that.

Alyssa had taken out a small vial with green liquid from her pocket and offered it to Akko. "This is...a rather special potion, you know...helps with...ah, concentration. My grandfather used this during the day...when work made his mind wander." Akko took the potion and examined it. It certainly looked weird...smelled like it, too.

"But, wouldn't that be cheating?" Akko had asked, only for Alyssa to shake her head.

"Cheating, why?"

"Well...if I use this…" Akko pointed at the vial. "Wouldn't it mean that I myself really wasn't improving if I had to use this thing?" Alyssa thought about her response.

"Concentrating isn't really cheating, though...besides, if you only use it for practice, it's more of a...handicap, I guess. I'm sure, eventually, even without the potion you'll do fine." Akko eyed the small bottle closely, squinting her eyes, before shaking her head.

"...urm...I'm not sure."

Sure, Alyssa said it wasn't cheating...but wasn't this why she was practicing? To get better? If she used a potion that helped her get better wouldn't that undermine what she was trying to achieve?

"...why don't you give a try, though?" Alyssa had told her, smiling. "A little extra concentration wouldn't hurt...right?"

Akko seemed to think about it again before finally, nodding with a smile.

"I...I guess not." And she popped the bottle open, and was about to chug everything down, when Alyssa stopped her.

"Very small doses, please." she warned. "Too much, and it will give you a headache."

Thanking Alyssa for the warning, Akko drank a little of the green liquid.

It tasted horrible. Like rotten eggs and dead meat.

As Akko tried not to gag, Alyssa comforted her with a small pat on the shoulder. "I look forward to what you'll accomplish, Atsuko…" And with that, Alyssa was gone and once the small bits of potion had run its course, Akko began her practice once more.

* * *

A few days later, Akko had remembered waking up and wanting to hurl.

She still remembered the furious stomachache that had taken hold of her that morning, and had forced her out of bed and to the bathroom to relieve herself.

But she couldn't do pretty much anything.

Akko had just stood there, leaning against the sink and staring at the mirror, breathing in and out, as her stomach settled inside her, making it hard to breath.

Twenty minutes later, Sucy had knocked the door and warned her to get out or else, and Akko, trying her best to hide the pain, complied. Her stomach hurt too much for her to want to start a fight with Sucy so early in the morning. Besides, if anything, the ache might go away on its own.

* * *

It was Lotte that noticed Akko's odd change first.

The ginger could still remember her roommate clutching her stomach, and wanting to rip the cloth that covered it apart one too many times. Still remembered Akko excusing herself to go to the bathroom to the point the teacher's had stopped letting her go unless it was an absolute emergency.

Sucy figured she just caught a bad bug that was causing diarrhea, but Lotte wasn't so convinced.

Akko was more distracted than usual.

She would flinch while she walked, winced as she ate, as if she couldn't keep food down but she still needed to eat.

And she had gone much quieter. Things that would make her scream or laugh seemed to go over her head. Snide remarks from Diana were ignored, while silly jokes by Amanda were smiled upon. But, she wasn't acting the way Lotte was used to Akko acting.

She stopped yelling, stopped trying to one-up Diana, stopped talking back, stopped...everything.

Sucy just kept on repeating that it was some bug and that it would go away.

* * *

Akko had not eaten much in the last few days, and it showed.

She just couldn't keep anything down anymore. She didn't have the energy for it.

The girl still practiced at night and took small sips of the little green vial that Alyssa had given her, but it was becoming harder and harder to manage to bother going to train.

She felt better when she turned into a mouse, but after that, she felt miserable.

Maybe Sucy was right. Maybe she had caught a bug and it would eventually go away on it's own. The nurse had found nothing wrong when Lotte took her yesterday...so…

...she was tired.

* * *

Akko had gotten a little too thin in the past month.

Sucy had noticed how Akko had just stopped eating.

She would just sit there, not even bothering to play with her food. It was so weird.

Even when Lotte offered to bring her some pudding, or Jasminka some cookies, Akko would just shake her head. Amanda had wondered if Akko still felt sick, but Akko would just shrug. And Sucy would shrug too.

Whatever bug had bitten Akko, had surely overstayed its welcome.

Despite what everyone believed, Sucy was capable of caring. Sure, she might not show it much and it might be more fun to make Akko's hair turn purple or give her a cat's tail, but seeing Akko so miserable was...strange.

Even stuck-up Miss Cavendish was getting concerned and had, one day, cornered the two of them to ask what was wrong with Akko, and ask if Sucy had something to do with it. Sucy would have taken offense for that, but she understood what Diana was saying.

Sucy wouldn't intentionally hurt Akko. Humiliate her, maybe, but to hurt her to the point it could kill her was something Sucy wouldn't do.

A month ago, she had figured whatever was bothering Akko would go away on it's own.

* * *

...her skirt...her skirt got too big...huh...that...that was weird...right?

* * *

Diana was busy in the library when the news broke out.

Atsuko Kagari wasn't waking up.

She wasn't dead. Just stuck in a very deep sleep that had caused her teammates to worry, and Miss Lotte Yanson to cry.

To say that Diana had not noticed her classmate's odd behavior months ago, would be an understatement.

She had noticed Akko's lack of energy before it had become a problem. Diana had not been too bothered by it, figuring that it had something to do with her midnight practice.

(Diana wondered how no one had caught her yet seeing as she kept shouting spells in the early hours of the day.)

And then, Akko had stopped eating. That in itself should have been the biggest warning sign, but everyone ignored it, Diana included. They figured she wasn't really feeling well, and at that time, Sucy just went on and on about some illness Akko caught and everyone was satisfied.

Then, Akko started to lose weight. A lot of it.

Her skirt was literally falling down. Her shirt and vest seemed to big on her now. Even her cloak and hat felt a few sizes too big.

Diana had cornered her teammates a few days later, wondering what was happening to her. No one knew, and Akko certainly wasn't talking.

Teachers had began to get worried, as well, especially Professor Ursula.

That woman had taken Akko to the nurse a few too many times only to return with nothing.

According to the nurse, nothing was wrong with Atsuko Kagari. She was healthy. But even the nurse could see, and everyone agreed, that something was terribly wrong with Akko.

Was it an allergy? A spell?

No one could tell anymore and Akko wasn't talking.

She had stopped talking for a whole two weeks. Lotte, of course, had tried to get her to laugh, do something, but Akko had just ignored her. And now, she wasn't waking up.

...what was happening to Atsuko Kagari...and what was it breaking Diana's heart the more she thought about it?

* * *

….this wasn't her room...but she didn't care.

...if she fell asleep, the pain would go away.

* * *

Two days later, Sucy found the half finished vial under Akko's bed.

It wasn't hidden very well. Just pushed behind a few books Akko kept under her bed.

Akko was sleeping in the infirmary now...for all that it was worth. A feeding tube was being used to give her the supplements she needed while she slept. Not that it made much of a difference. Akko just couldn't be bothered to care. Even if she was dying.

If this went on for much longer...Sucy didn't really want to think about that.

For now, she focused on the small vial on her hands, examining it closely. She popped the cap, and sniffed. Ugh. Terrible smell. Like rotten eggs.

Sucy placed the cap back in place, and examined the vial again. She could certainly sense the magic inside that slimy green liquid.

Had that idiot taken one of her potions? No. Sucy had a good memory. She would have known if any of her potions had gone missing and besides, she would have remembered if she made the thing. But she hadn't.

Akko certainly hadn't made this.

That girl wouldn't be able to make a good potion to save her life.

The resulting concoction would probably explode on her face, turn her hair pink or at worse, just give her an allergic reaction that would bloat her face for days to come.

And yet, none of those things had happened. Either Akko had done the impossible and made this herself, or someone else had given this to her and...

(...oh, Akko...you dummy.)

Sucy glared at vial in her hands.

Time to get to work.

* * *

Alyssa was rather disappointed that Akko wasn't practicing anymore.

She was staying at the nurse's office. She wasn't feeling too well.

Not that Alyssa could blame her. The weather was rather dreadful this time of year. Anyone could get sick just by looking up at the ceiling.

Still, Alyssa couldn't help but be annoyed.

If only Akko had stayed alone in her room, things would be so much easier.

Had she not explained that that potion was to be taken at small doses? Now, Alyssa wouldn't be able to see her little mouse again. It was infuriating.

Everyone was paying attention to Akko now. Cavendish, Manbavaran, Yanson, Callistis, Holbrooke...everyone.

Alyssa had waited months to get her little mouse...and if Akko...well.

Huh. What a waste.

* * *

….the nurse was...being annoying again…

...Akko wanted to sleep...sleep…

...she didn't feel like anything…

...like...like anything…

...an...y….more…

...huh…?

...Aly...ssa…?

...what….what was...she...doing...here…?

 **End of Part I**


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